JEDDAH — Australia's strong trade and investment relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is expected to be further boosted with the arrival of a high level business delegation this week. The Australia Gulf Council (AGC), a not-for-profit organization that aims to further strengthen the multilateral relationship between Australia and the Gulf states, will arrive in the Kingdom this Friday (Nov. 30) for a five-day visit focused on building greater trade ties in key sectors. The delegation of 12 business leaders from some of Australia's top companies will then visit Abu Dhabi in the UAE. Leading the business mission will be Mark Vaile AO, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (2005-2007) and former Minister for Trade (1999-2006), Anna Bligh, former Queensland Premier (2007-2012) and Ahmed Fahour, the Australian Special Envoy to the Organization of The Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Australia's two-way merchandise trade with Saudi Arabia has risen to AU$2,152 million, with major exports in 2011-12 including passenger motor vehicles (AU$569 million), barley (AU$299 million), wheat (AU$100 million) and meat (excl. beef) (AU$84 million). Major Australian imports from the Kingdom in 2011-12 included fertilizers (excl. crude) (AU$149 million) and crude petroleum (AU$148 million). Australian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Neil Hawkins, welcomes the visit, saying: “The AGC's mission will have the opportunity to appreciate the sheer scale of significant business opportunities available to Australian companies in Saudi Arabia, which is the largest economy in the Gulf.” “As other Australian companies operating in Saudi Arabia have found, personal contacts are an essential ingredient of doing business in this region so a visit such as this is very important.” It is the third time the AGC has been in the region and this week's visit follows other successful delegations which have been in the region strengthening trade and bilateral relations since 2010. “Our goal is to continue to develop stronger and sustained linkages across the business and government communities in Australia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” said Jonathan Herps, Chief Executive Officer of the AGC. “Over the past two years we have worked hard to nurture mutually beneficial relationships between the Gulf States and Australia through our corporate partners and other commercial, government, non-government and diplomatic stakeholders. Our mission is to build on this further with the GCC countries and facilitate increased two-way trade and investment in these key markets for Australia.” The AGC works closely with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) and Austrade who will help the travelling delegation to explore economic and political partnerships and areas for further collaboration across business and government entities. Sectors represented on the business mission by chief and senior executives include automotive, agriculture, construction and engineering, education, financial services, food and beverage, transport, telecommunications and tourism. “Once again it is going to be a packed program that will include senior-level government to business and business to business engagement,” said Herps. “We are all looking forward to building on the successes and opportunities of the previous missions and creating new partnerships that will continue to grow our connections with this region.” — SG
